Four students charged in making Lancaster High School threats

LANCASTER - Four students are facing criminal charges following telephone threats to Lancaster High School on Feb. 23 which caused officials to close the school that day.

The four juveniles were arraigned Friday before Fairfield County Juvenile Court Judge Terre Vandervoort on criminal charges including inducing panic, making false alarms and telecommunications harassment.

The students were taken to the Multi-County Juvenile Detention Center following their arraignment. They are ordered to undergo behavioral and mental health counseling.

Along with the four students charged with the LHS threats, Witt said juveniles who made threats to the Bloom Carroll, Liberty Union, and Pickerington local school districts were charged earlier this week.

"The rash of school threats over the past week has been unprecedented," Fairfield County Prosecutor Kyle Witt said in a statement. "I want to assure the public all those affected by these threats of our steadfast commitment to ensuring a safe learning environment for our students, and that we will have zero tolerance when it comes to any threat of violence in our schools."

The Lancaster school district posted an update on its Facebook page Sunday saying the threat was not credible:

"The students involved in making the phone call resulting in Friday’s school closure have been identified and are facing consequences and will not be in school on Monday."

Lancaster High School Associate Principal Steve Spangler also said via a video message saying there is no room for making threats, even if made in a joking manner.

The various threats come just a couple weeks after 17 people died in a Florida high school shooting.